FAQs

What’s involved in the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers’ complaints process and how long does it typically take? As part of its duty to serve and protect the public interest, the College is required to have a formal complaints process, which gives members of the public the ability to have their complaint about a member’s alleged conduct or actions submitted to the College’s Complaints Committee.

Are social workers and social service workers permitted to provide services to clients who live temporarily in Ontario? College members are permitted to practise with clients who currently live in Ontario, regardless of whether the client is in Ontario on a temporary or permanent basis.

The College’s ongoing mandate is to protect the public from unqualified, incompetent and unfit practitioners. As part of this public protection mandate, the College has a duty to consider and investigate reports and complaints regarding alleged misconduct or incompetence of College members, including sexual abuse and/or boundary violations of a sexual nature.

The College continues to monitor the ongoing developments related to COVID-19 and is committed to providing College members and other stakeholders with ongoing updates and information. While the College’s physical office remains closed, we have resumed many regulatory operations remotely.

The purpose of the new law is to assist police in locating a missing person where no criminal investigation is underway. Under the new law, once a client is established to be a missing person, police officers are able to request information contained in client records with an urgent demand, an order for the production of records or a search warrant.